Candidate Clinton quits Clinton Foundation

Fresh from launching her new presidential bid Sunday, Hillary Clinton left the board of the family foundation led by her husband, ex-president Bill Clinton, amid conflict of interest concerns, AFP reports.

"While I have cherished my time serving on the board and engaging in the day-to-day work of the Foundation, in order to devote my self to this new, all-encompassing endeavor, I have resigned from the board of directors today," she said.

The Clinton family foundation is a major international charity organization, having raised almost two billion dollars since its creation in 2001.

After the former top US diplomat left the State Department in 2013, she worked an several projects with it such as "No Ceilings" -- focused on women and girls in developing countries.

But the power of the donors, including several national governments, gave rise to fears that Clinton critics might seek to construe the donations as efforts to influence one of the most powerful couples in the United States.

Long assumed to be front-runner for her Democratic Party's presidential nomination, Clinton's formal entry into the race unleashes her fundraising machine and empowers her to parry Republican attacks seven years after her bitter nomination defeat to Barack Obama.